A Tribe Called Quest and Vans Team Up for Shoe Collection

This spring, Vans and A Tribe Called Quest are teaming up to release a collaboration shoe collection, which will include six different styles to choose from. Scheduled to be released April 6, the collection will be themed after A Tribe Called Quest’s body of work, and pay tribute to its members: Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Jarobi White.

The upcoming shoe collection will feature six signature Vans sneakers: Authentic, Era, Old Skool, Sk8-Hi, Slip-On and the Ultra Range. Graphics for the shoes will draw inspiration from various A Tribe projects, such as The Low End Theory, The Love Movement, and We Got It From Here… Thank you 4 Your Service. The shoes will also have influence from some of their biggest hits, and will include A Tribe Called Quest’s signature logos.

Here’s what’s written on the Vans website about the upcoming shoe collection:

”Two Tribes Unite: Can we kick it? A Tribe Called Quest and Vans Team up on a collection of footwear paying tribute to the iconic alternative hip-hop group. Inspired by their impact on culture, Vans presents a truly unique collaboration that celebrates style, art, music and authenticity.

To promote the release of the shoe collection, Vans hosted an RSVP pop-up shop event located at House of Vans Brooklyn on March 30 & 31. In addition to the sneakers, the pop-up shop event included live music guests curated by A Tribe Called Quest. Check out a fan-made video of the pop-up shop below.

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The collaboration was first revealed back in the fall of 2017 at ComplexCon in Long Beach, California. At the convention, long-time Tribe associate and hip-hop artist Consequence displayed the Sk8-Hi and Authentic models of the sneakers in different colorways, which wouldn’t be seen again until this year.

This isn’t A Tribe Called Quest’s only clothing collaboration. On the store section of their website, a a few of the items on sale are from their collaboration with Billionaire Boys Club, a streetwear brand headed by fellow hip-hop legend Pharrell. Two shirts, a hat, and a hoodie make up the available merchandise from the collaboration, with the hoodie featuring a graphic that reads “For Malik…”

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The hoodie pays tribute to the late Phife Dawg, who’s real name was Malik Izaak Taylor. Phife Dawg passed away in March of 2016, which led to the group’s latest album being titled We Got It From Here… Thank you 4 Your Service. paying respect to the late MC.
The April 6 sneaker drop will include the six models of shoes in adult, child, and toddler sizes. You can sign up to be alerted via email when the shoes drop on the Vans website.

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